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Menachem Begin Interviewed on New York Television

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An extract of an interview Begin gave to Chris Wallace. The full version of the interview can be found at a newsletter from the UNITED ZIONISTS REVISIONISTS OF AMERICA. Begin felt persecuted as a Jew and winess persecution against Jews from his childhood through his college years. He joined Zeev Jabotinsky’s Betar movement and decided that the Jews had to fight for their own state. Etzel saw the situation in Mandatory Palestine more realistically than the Haganah and knew that there was no way they would be given a state without fighting for it. Allegations that Etzel was a bunch of cowards who killed randomly and would not face the enemy in open conflict were completely wrong, as the warnings before attacks, storming of Acre prison, and brave deaths of the Gallows Martyrs proves.

Mike Wallace Interviewing Menachem Begin

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An interview Begin gave to Chris Wallace. Begin felt persecuted as a Jew and witnessed persecution against Jews from his childhood through his college years. He joined Zeev Jabotinsky’s Betar movement and decided that the Jews had to fight for their own state. Allegations that the Irgun was a bunch of cowards who killed randomly and would not face the enemy in open conflict were completely wrong, as the warnings before attacks, storming of Acre prison, and brave deaths of the Gallows Martyrs proves. Begin says that all people and organizations, including the Irgun, make mistakes. He regrets the civilian deaths at Dir Yassin, but it was a fierce battle to conquer the town which had many casualties on both sides. The Irgun and the Lechi were too small to believe in force. War is a terrible tragedy, because once it begins innocent people are guaranteed to die no matter how careful an army is.

Israel’s Democracy Endangered

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Begin challenges the article in the “Jerusalem Post” that vaguely argues that Pinchas Lavon is against the army. Begin shares that the underlying cause of Lavon’s forced resignation and the article is because of David Ben-Gurion. Begin argues that Israel is a free state and Ben-Gurion’s actions are dangerous to the future of Israel’s democratic values. He concludes that Herut will do everything in their means to prevent Ben-Gurion’s covering up process.

Begin Criticizes Unrealistic Peace Offer to Nasser

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A summation of a speech Begin gave at the Knesset about Nasser’s intentions toward Israel and the government’s reading of his intentions. The government is sending conflicting messages about Nasser, sometimes saying that he is an Egyptian Hitler and sometimes saying that he could be a possible peace partner. It is the duty of Foreign Minister Golda Meir to expose Nasser at the UN. At the UN Nasser demanded that Israel go back to the situation that existed before 1917, meaning the destruction of Israel and the removal or extermination for the vast majority of its Jews. Nasser then demanded that both Israel and Jordan be incorporated into a larger pan-Arab republic. Israel has a duty to tell its citizens the truth about the situation in the Middle East and how conditions are changing.

Menachem Begin Defends Youth of Israel

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An op-ed Begin wrote in response to criticism of Israeli youth by the political establishment. Israel’s youth are being accused of being too career-focused and not self-sacrificing like the youth that first built the state. Begin says that no generation can be generalized, even for good, and that all generations have their selfish and sloth-like elements. There does not have to be a contradiction between getting an education and pursuing a career on the one hand, and service to the state on the other hand. In fact the state needs people who pursue careers and provide for themselves and their families.